Water-Centric Planning

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Brian Carruthers

    BLUE ECOLOGY OFFERS HOPE AND REMOVES THE FEAR OF RECONCILIATION: “As long as you show a genuine curiosity, the willingness to learn, cross-cultural conversations blossom,” stated Michael Blackstock, Independent Indigenous Scholar and co-founder of the Blue Ecology Institute Foundation


    Michael Blackstock believes that a message of hope is paramount in these times of droughts, forest fires and floods. “Rather than looking through a cumulative effects lens, I also see the concept of ‘cumulative healing’ landing as a way to give back to water and land. Rather than wondering how much more can we take or impact land before we need to stop, instead we should ask how much longer should we let the water and land heal, before we ask for more,” states Michael Blackstock.

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    LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “Our rivers, our watersheds are connected to many aspects of our lives. A First Nation perspective would recognize water as life,” stated Paul Chapman


    “The earliest inhabitants on the land, BC’s First Nations, settled near rivers. More recent settlements have followed suit, settling near rivers for fresh water supply, travel, commerce, food supply, recreation, and in our built environments storm water and wastewater services. Climate change has compounded the stresses our modern practices and settlements impose on watershed health and healthy functioning. The new normal includes drought, flood and fire on a seasonal basis. A hopeful way forward is found in Blue Ecology,” stated Paul Chapman, Chair of the Watershed Moments Team.

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    BLUE ECOLOGY IS A PATHWAY TO WATER RECONCILIATION AT THE LOCAL SCALE IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: Blue Ecology is about taking responsibility for care of the land. Indigenous scholar Michael Blackstock discusses interweaving Indigenous oral history and Western water science.


    The Blue Ecology video documentary seeds the idea that hope lies within the spheres of influence for local governments…whether they are Indigenous OR non-Indigenous. At its heart, Blue Ecology is about taking responsibility for care of the land and passing on the intergenerational baton. The video also seeds the idea that making it so requires a change in attitude to achieve the five Blue Ecology principles – Spirit, Balance, Harmony, Respect, Unity. The primary audience for the video are people in local governments. The Watershed Moments goal is to help remove their fear of saying or doing the wrong thing.

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    LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “Getting involved in a Water Sustainability Plan is one thing. Leading it is another. Who is going to take charge, who is going to step up and really lead that process,” stated Brian Carruthers, former Chief Administrative Officer with the Cowichan Valley Regional District (January 2023)


    “When I think about the experience in the Cowichan, in many ways the region is still in the theoretical stage in terms of weaving Indigenous knowledge and Western science,” stated Brian Carruthers. “We created the framework for that to happen, but I cannot say that it truly has happened. The foundation for interweaving in the Cowichan region is really with the Cowichan Tribes. Everything the Cowichan Valley Regional District has done has been shoulder to shoulder with them. The framework is in place and the Drinking Water and Watershed Protection service exists.”

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    BLUE ECOLOGY IS THE PATHWAY TO REACH WATER RECONCILIATION: “What Blue Ecology offers local government is a foundation, and starting point, that has both Indigenous and non-Indigenous buy-in. I believe this will alone remove some of the fear,” says Michael Blackstock, independent Indigenous scholar and creator of the Blue Ecology methodology


    “I have been reflecting on the recent UN climate change conference in Egypt. It seems that the wind is coming out of the sails. It seems like climate adaptation is too big a hill for nation level governments to climb and solve. My hope lies in local government because local people understand their local area. And at the local scale, we are able to self-organize better on specific execution of executable tasks. I have lived in many communities throughout BC and have learned that those towns each have their own culture. So, local knowledge is important, whether it is Indigenous or non-Indigenous,” stated Michael Blackstock.

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